College

Gumdrops

A mix of miscellany
By Dale Kirby
Are adjunct professors bad for students? Jenna Ashley Robinson of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy has written an interesting column questioning the findings of a recent study of part-time faculty teaching and student retention. The study in question found that students whose introductory courses were taught by part-time or adjunct faculty were more likely to change majors, switch institutions or drop out altogether.

Hard times for Irish universities? Universities in the Republic of Ireland are warning that proposed cuts to government funding could result in course cancellations and trimmed student services.

Should students’ bad spelling be accepted? In an opinion piece in the current Times Higher Education Supplement, a criminology lecturer in the UK suggests that most misspelled words make sense and many of students’ common spelling mistakes should be accepted and not corrected. I couldn’t disagree more.

To blog or not to blog? The current issue of University Affairs includes a great article about Canadian university presidents who blog.